Since the first Corvette was built in 1953, the top-shelf sports car from Chevrolet has amassed a monster following, so much so that the nameplate spawned the National Corvette Museum. In addition, the Corvette has even spawned a motorsports park that will begin operation in August of this year, in the city of the Corvette’s construction, Bowling Green, Kentucky. 

The 115,000-square-foot building has been in the news quite a lot this year, and not for all the right reasons. Back in February, a sinkhole opened up beneath one of the display areas – the Skydome – and swallowed a number of very rare Corvettes in the process. Since the sinkhole opened up, the Museum has seen an immense increase in visitors, up nearly 50% from the same time period in 2013.

All was not lost as the Museum continued operating while the “Great Eight” cars were removed from the sinkhole and on June 9th, 2014, the Museum welcomed their three millionth guest, Brandon, from Nashville, Tennessee. Brandon and his partner, Amy, almost gave up their chance to be part of the momentous occasion, as they were supposed to visit the museum the week prior but were unable to make the trip due to Brandon’s work schedule.

As the three millionth guest to the museum, Brandon received a number of gifts from the Museum – a one-year membership, gift certificates to be used in the Corvette Store, and even his very own Flint Brick from the factory where the 1953 model was built in Michigan. In addition to welcoming its three millionth guest, the Museum is also celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2014 with all sorts of special events held throughout the year.

As a Corvette enthusiast, if you’ve never had the chance to visit the Corvette Museum, it’s time to add a trip onto your bucket list. Some of the rarest Corvettes in the world are on the property; some owned by the Museum, some by GM, and some that are generously loaned by Corvette enthusiasts for display. All hold some sort of historical significance to the world-renowned sports car.